


Under that Damn Mistletoe

by hickeystyles



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Best Friends, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Music, Christmas Party, Christmas Smut, DJ Zayn Malik, Drunk Harry, Drunk Louis, Friends to Lovers, Hand Jobs, Love Confessions, M/M, Mistletoe, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Harry, Pining, Pining Louis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-08 01:32:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5478305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hickeystyles/pseuds/hickeystyles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis' heart froze when he looked over and saw Liam whispering in Harry’s ear and nodding towards the mistletoe. Louis’ eyes widened comically before he dove out of sight so Harry couldn’t see him standing under the mistletoe like an idiot, or worse, like he was part of Liam’s plan to have Harry kiss him.</p>
<p>
  <em>Or a Christmas Party AU where Louis is in love with his best friend Harry and everyone else is trying to force the two of them under the mistletoe together  </em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Under that Damn Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I know it's been a bit since I wrote but I got inspired by [ this AU list ](http://sparklyskinnyjeans.tumblr.com/post/134146649646/some-fun-holiday-aus) and I knew Christmas is coming up so I had to write it. Hope you all enjoy! x
> 
> As always, my tumblr is [hickeystyles.tumblr.com ](http://hickeystyles.tumblr.com/) if you want to message me!

The most frustrating thing about alcohol for Louis is that every time he got really drunk, he seemed to blabber on to anyone who would listen how much he was in love with his best friend, Harry. 

He would grab someone’s sleeve at a club and start to recite poorly constructed poetry about his “emerald eyes that glittered like dewy grass” (whatever that meant). Or he would clutch his white wine bottle and whine to the person next to him on the bar stool about how long Harry’s legs were and how much he wanted to hold his hand and other sappy shit he would never dream about saying when he was sober. 

Every time it happened, he would wake up with a hangover and a blush that covered his cheeks for at least five minutes as his sluggish brain struggled to recall every embarrassing detail he raved on about Harry to his friends and strangers the night prior. 

Thankfully, drunk as he always was on these nights, he managed to never accidentally blurt it to Harry that he was in love with him. Instead, Louis would avoid Harry when he was wasted, and then stare at him full of longing and jealousy as Harry then decided to flirt with many other guys at the club or party they were at when he couldn’t hang out with Louis. Louis didn’t get mad at him, of course; it’s not like Harry knew Louis loved him, and Louis accepted that Harry would never love him back anyway. Harry was young; he should be able to flirt freely with pretty men with his pretty lips and pretty laugh. And if Louis burned with jealously when he ended up taking them home some of those nights, no one had to know. 

Louis assumed at some point his other friends, being as close as they all were, would take the alcohol away from him when he got to his “whiny Harry mode” as they all called it, or at least strap a muzzle to his mouth. Instead, every time they decided to just imitate and mock him in the morning. Such good friends they were. 

He should’ve guessed at some point they would take matters into their own hands, as dramatically as possible, probably just to get Louis to shut up. 

He first started to get suspicious when the five of them were decorating Louis’ flat for his annual Christmas party that night, and Niall, Liam, and Zayn kept whispering to each other. Zayn was holding the ladder up for Niall as he hung up some tinsel on the archway that connected the living room and the kitchen, Liam feeding him the string of shiny material. They kept glancing over at Louis and Harry and whispering excitedly, making Louis squirm. Of course, Harry was oblivious as always, humming “Baby it’s Cold Outside” and wrapping some colorful lights over the fireplace, while Louis pretended to look busy so he didn’t have to do any of the grunt work. Plus, while Harry was busy, it gave him the opportunity to ogle his cute little bum as it shook from left to right to the melody he was humming.

“Lou,” Harry started, shaking Louis out of his staring, hearing a snicker behind him somewhere from the kitchen, “can you at least _try_ to help me decorate?” he asked, his voice exasperated, but Louis could see he was fighting a smile.

“Fine, fine,” Louis obliged, as he always did for Harry, “how about I start the jello shots? I’m good at mixing. I’m not good at this… creative business.” He waved his hands around the lights dramatically, making Harry giggle.

“Yeah, that’s fine, that’s fine,” Harry nodded, “make sure you add cinnamon to some so they’re more Christmassy.”

Louis fake gagged. “That’s disgusting. They’re already green and red, what more do you want? Reindeer shit in them?” 

He heard Niall’s loud cackle from the kitchen as Harry shook his head. “Just get in the kitchen, you smart arse,” he replied, lightly hitting Louis’ bum with the string of lights he had in his hands. 

Louis headed into the kitchen and pulled out the jello mixes, quickly scanning the box to see what ingredients he needed. As he gathered the supplies, the other three were whispering again, even giggling at some points. Louis determinedly ignored them as he pulled a sizable mixing bowl out from the bottom cabinet. Only when Niall yelled out a particularly loud “yes!” Louis turned to them, annoyed. 

“What are you three gossiping grandmas raving on about?” he asked, his hand on his hip. He knew he was being a bit of a hypocrite as he resembled a grandma with the way he was standing sternly with his hand on his hip, a mixing bowl in one hand and a spatula in the one on his hip. All he needed was an apron. 

“Nothing,” Liam sing-songed.

“Yeah, Lou, just continue making the jello shots Harry asked you to make for him,” Niall grinned, “are you gonna put his favorite flavored vodka in there just for him? Maybe some Louis kisses?”

“Is it possible to make jello shots in the shape of hearts? ‘Cause then that would be perfect,” Zayn chimed in.

Louis rolled his eyes, willing his blush to go down. “Shut up, you lot. You’re just lucky I’m not putting your blood in these damn shots, ‘cause I’m tempted.”

Zayn opened his mouth to retort, but stopped short when Harry appeared in the kitchen. There was an abrupt silence, except for the soft voices of some old Christmas song on the radio in the background. 

Harry paused, looking at all of them. “Okay… I’m gonna pretend you all didn’t stop talking ‘cause I walked in and get a water bottle from the fridge.” He pulled one out and took a long swig of it, the delicious column of his throat on full display, before capping it back up. “I’ll continue decorating the living room, then, I suppose,” he added, already backing out of the kitchen, still puzzled, “Lou, want me to put the picture of us you framed for me last Christmas up on the mantle, or do you think it’ll get broken? It just looks so festive with the lights you put around the frame.”

Louis felt the other three staring at him, as he willed himself not to start blushing again. “Uh… yeah, you can keep that out.”

Harry beamed. “Sweet! I’ll go position it now,” he added, jogging back into the living room. His foot barely left the last kitchen tile before Niall, Zayn, and Liam were crying with laughter.

“You decorated a frame for him?! That is the cutest thing I have ever heard,” Niall laughed, wiping his eyes. 

“You are all so annoying!” he groaned, thumping his head on the counter. 

At this point, Louis just wanted to get the damn party over with.

Or at least adopt new friends.

 

_

 

By time the party actually started, Louis had to admit he was glad he was throwing it. 

The decorations turned out amazing: the lights Harry hung around the living room glowed lovely colors and created an ethereal glow around the room. The red and green dancing lights that they set up on the ceiling were also very festive as they flashed across people’s happy faces. Some of the tinsel was already falling as drunk people pulled on them, but even then it made the floor shiny. Even the candy canes they set up around the flat were a hit as he saw many people picking them up and eating them periodically.

His flat was filled with his closest friends: some from home, some from uni, and some from his part time job at the grocery store. Everyone was pleasantly buzzed, many even drunk. The flat was filled with the sounds of laughter and chatting, also loud singing as people writhed on the makeshift dance floor where Louis pushed the coffee table out of the way. 

The music was thumping, but it was fun Christmas music everyone knew the words to. Zayn was manning the DJ booth and choosing the music, a huge dopey drunk smile on his face as he jumped along to the beat, yelling out cheers every once in a while. Louis loved drunk Zayn; he was a lot less suave and put together. In fact, he didn’t even care that his quiff was drooping slightly into his eyes. 

The jello shots were a hit; he ran out in the first half hour of the party. It didn’t really matter though, because at one point he was running around the party pouring shots into people’s mouths straight from the vodka bottle.

Louis was only a little past tipsy, just wanting to soak in the success of his party and watch all of his friends mingling and having fun. He loved how Stan from home was twirling Lou from the grocery store on the dance floor and how when he went into the kitchen, Niall was chest bumping with Ed, who he met at uni, as the two scored in beer pong. At one point, he even saw Liam making out furiously with a girl that was in his drama class against the fridge, much to the kitchen goers delight, as many people turned to cheer them on. 

The fact that he wasn’t that drunk was also awesome, because he found himself being able to hang out with Harry without being an ass. Harry was following him around, helping him control the party and refill the cookies and snacks and keeping everyone happy. He was making party hosting even more fun as the two giggled over their drunk friends and sang loudly along with the Christmas music. 

Harry really just looked so beautiful under the fairy lights, his green eyes glittering. His pale skin contrasted beautifully with his red lips that were stained with red wine and always curved in a smile throughout the night. He should’ve looked stupid in the red reindeer sweater he was wearing and the antlers that pushed back his long curls, but Louis just wanted to kiss him. 

It was about midnight when Louis suddenly figured out what his three friends were whispering about earlier in the day. It’s not that Louis didn’t notice the large mistletoe that was placed in the entryway to the kitchen to the living room, it’s just that he didn’t pay much attention to it, as much people just jokingly pecked each other under it throughout the night. But then Liam was pretty drunkenly pushing him under it on Louis’ way back from the bathroom, being very unsubtle due to the amount of alcohol in his system, and telling him to wait there for a minute. 

Louis sighed, obliging, crossing his arms and absentmindedly picking at the eyes of the Santa on his ugly Christmas sweater he was wearing (yes, he was a hypocrite for making fun of Harry), wondering what Liam was up to. His heart froze when he looked over and saw Liam whispering in Harry’s ear and nodding towards the mistletoe. Louis’ eyes widened comically before he dove out of sight so Harry couldn’t see him standing under the mistletoe like an idiot, or worse, like he was part of Liam’s plan to have Harry kiss him. 

Grumbling and with his heart beating, Louis straightened up and grabbed the drink closest to him, which was some sort of gingerbread tasting vodka. Fucking holiday tastes. 

“Dude, I thought you were supposed to be under the mistletoe by now,” Louis heard Niall’s voice behind him before he clapped Louis on the shoulder.

“You guys are cunts and I seriously wonder why I’m friends with you,” Louis deadpanned, shaking Niall’s hand off his shoulder.

Niall looked mock offended. “Just because we want you together with the love of your life? Wow, such atrocities, I tell you! We’re horrendous friends!” He placed his hand over his heart and fanned himself with the other.

Louis snorted. “When did you learn such big words, Horan?” 

“I actually pay attention in uni, unlike you,” Niall grinned, then burped loudly. “Ooh, peppermint flavored, yum!”

Louis wrinkled his nose, waving the smell away. “So are you going to shove me and Harry under the mistletoe all night? Or can I go back to enjoying my party?”

“Numero uno, my friend,” Niall clapped his hands, “so get the chapstick ready, eh?” He winked before hollering about shots and heading into the living room, followed by some loud whoops. Louis groaned. He was way too sober for this. 

Taking another gulp of the gingerbread vodka, he crushed the red solo cup it was in and headed into the living room in search of a distraction, hopefully Harry. “Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grande suddenly came over the speakers and loud cheers filled the living room, and Louis felt a large arm grip his arm and yank him onto the dance floor.

“Hey, I was wondering where you got off to!” Harry smiled, his eyes a tiny bit glassier, but he still wasn’t belligerently drunk. He started to sway and grabbed Louis’ arms, twirling him while singing the song.

Louis barked out a laugh, starting to clap and sing back to him loudly, pointing at him dramatically and making Harry giggle. Louis tried not to pay attention to how well the lyrics fit his life, especially as Harry whispered in his ear, a little too earnestly, “don’t make me fall in love again if he won’t be here, next year.” His stomach squirmed as Harry’s curls tickled his neck and how the words had an effect on him.

Louis leaned back into him, but they were jolted apart as everyone started to jump to the song and the two joined in, laughing hysterically. He could’ve sworn he saw Zayn give him two thumbs up from his spot behind the DJ booth when they made eye contact.

When the song ended, Harry squeezed Louis’ arm before saying, “hey, I’m gonna go get another drink. Stay here, I’ll be right back.” Louis nodded before he inched off the dancefloor to the side so he could take a break and get some air. 

He noticed a co-worker, Janice, just sipping her drink on the side of the dancefloor, looking out of place, so he decided to talk to her to make her feel more at home. 

“Hey, Jan, how’s it going?” he asked her.

“Me? Um, good, this drink is really good, so,” she chuckled awkwardly, a cute dimple poking out. Janice was really pretty with her wild black curls pulled back by a bow and her stunning dark brown eyes. She was just very shy. He was brainstorming people he could introduce her to, scanning the party, when his eye caught that Harry was under the mistletoe, Niall giggling just behind him. 

Louis groaned loudly before excusing himself from Janice with an apology, marching over to Harry and pulling him back into the living room. Harry stumbled after him on his giraffe legs, almost bumping into Ed who was drunkenly carrying a cookie tray around.

“Cheers!” Ed called, tipping his Santa hat to them, crumbs falling out of his mouth, as he headed into the kitchen.

“What’s going on?” Harry asked, his eyebrows pulled together, confused.

“Look, if you haven’t caught on, Niall, Zayn, and Liam are coming up with, I must say, poorly constructed and very unsubtle plans to get us under the mistletoe. Like, together. So we’d, um, kiss,” Louis explained awkwardly, wondering too late if he should’ve lied and said the mistletoe was cursed or something. He rubbed the back of his neck as he noticed a blush crawl up Harry’s neck, almost matching his sweater.

“Uh, why?” he asked, biting his lip.

“Who knows? Because they’re dumb and bored. Probably because we’re their only openly gay friends,” Louis lied smoothly, internally patting himself on the back.

“Oh, that makes sense,” Harry nodded, before his eyes suddenly had a mischievous twinkle in them, “hey, why don’t we mess with them?”

Louis laughed. He loved when Harry wanted them to get into trouble together. It’s when the two of them would have the most fun. Like that one time Louis convinced the two of them to go pool hopping in Louis’ neighbor’s pool. They got caught, of course, but they still laugh about Mrs. Jone’s face when she caught them shivering in their boxers.

“What do you propose, Harold?” Louis asked, pulling on one of Harry’s curls.

“How about we act like we’re going along with their plan, and whoever isn’t under the mistletoe at that particular time has to plan a massive distraction to get the other out from under the mistletoe. It’ll be so funny causing a scene and getting the other three frustrated, thinking their plan is about to work and that we’re cooperating, when in reality, we’re not.”

Louis tried not to feel disappointed that Harry’s plan didn’t include them giving in and just kissing under the mistletoe, but he felt his heart sink a little. Why didn’t Harry want to kiss him under the mistletoe? He sighed, knowing that he was right about Harry only seeing them as friends. But since he would do anything to make Harry smile, he forced his own smile on his face and nodded.

“Perfect. What kind of distraction do you propose?” he asked.

Harry clapped. “Yes! Okay, you go find Niall and go under the mistletoe, you’ll see what I’m planning.” And with that, he shot some dorky hand guns at Louis and ran into the living room. 

Shaking his head, Louis walked into the kitchen to find Niall still manning the beer pong table that was actually just his kitchen table covered in beer and red solo cups. He was going to ask why Niall shed his snow flake button up that was now just in a crumple on the floor, but he decided he would rather not know why Niall was now completely shirtless.

“Sup, Ni,” he said as Niall threw his pong ball and completely missed. It bounced off the table and flew into the back of the head of someone Louis vaguely remembered as someone’s girlfriend twice removed or whatever.

“Shit!” Niall exclaimed before turning to Louis and sighing, “Eh, just losing. I won the other rounds I swear.”

“You wish, Horan!” Stan called from the other side of the table.

“Shut up, ya cunt!” Niall laughed, throwing an empty red solo cup at him as Stan ducked. “Oh, shit, wait, Louis! It’s you!” Louis laughed as Niall’s drunk brain tried to remember the plan. “Hey, um, follow me, Lou.”

“Okay… I wonder what’s going on…” he said sarcastically as Niall snickered at him under his breath, apparently convinced Louis hadn’t caught on yet. 

“Stay here,” Niall ordered, placing Louis under the mistletoe before jogging into the living room. 

Louis tapped his foot impatiently, wondering what trick Harry had under his sleeve. Niall then came jogging up again and stood behind Louis, giving Liam a thumbs up from behind him. Louis rolled his eyes as Harry came up to him, but a step before he was actually under the mistletoe, he widened his eyes dramatically. 

“HUGE SPIDER! Louis, Niall, _run!_ ” Harry screamed, pointing at something invisible on the ground. 

Niall, of course, being drunk and terrified of spiders, yelped loudly before grabbing Louis’ arm and hauling them into the kitchen. He let go of Louis then to fend for himself and tripped over the leg of the kitchen table, falling to his knees before attempting to scramble to his feet. His Christmas socks couldn’t get traction on the tiled floor, so he just ran for a second like a cartoon character as he held onto the chair next to him, before falling to the ground again. 

Everyone paused to watch Niall struggle, all laughing. Louis was on the ground with tears in his eyes he was laughing so hard, turning to look at Harry, who was also doubled over, leaning on the wall. When they made eye contact, the two started to laugh even harder. Louis got up, wiping under his eyes, and walked over to Harry.

“I’m gonna outdo you, Styles. It’s gonna be hard, but wait for what I have up my sleeve. I better find you under that mistletoe soon,” Louis pointed a stern finger at him.

“Yes, sir,” Harry saluted him, before walking over to Niall and putting him out of his mercy, helping him to his feet by hauling him up by his armpits.

Louis headed into the living room, brainstorming how he could outdo Harry’s little stunt. He scanned his party guests, before noticing that instead of a tray of cookies, Ed was now carrying a tray of shots with a grin on his face, making an idea pop into his head. 

“Ed!” he called, making his way through the people on the dance floor to get to Ed, who was now pouring more vodka into the glasses by the drinks table. 

“What’s up, Lou?” he asked, capping the bottle and placing it on the candy cane decorated table cloth. 

He looked out of the corner of his eye and noticed Harry was under the mistletoe already, fake yawning and looking at his wrist that didn’t even have a watch on it. The bastard. 

“Um, there’s some people in the kitchen who need some drinks, can you head in there and hand some out?” he asked sweetly, batting his eyelashes. 

Ed chuckled. “’Course. Want any?” He held the tray of drinks in an array of Christmas shot glasses, to which Louis decided to just have one more. He was already feeling a little more than buzzed, but Harry was making him feel so giggly and happy, he decided some more alcohol couldn’t hurt. If it made him feel this good, why not? Harry was making him feel reckless with all this scheming. 

“Sure,” Louis grinned, before taking one in a Santa head and knocking it back. He winced, not noticing it wasn’t the clear color of vodka, but actually whiskey. “Wow, that’s strong,” he wheezed, as Ed laughed.

“Alright, I’m heading in the kitchen,” Ed nodded towards the walk way. Louis jogged to get a little bit ahead of him. To his delight, Liam was next to Harry this time, his hands over his mouth in poorly concealed anticipation. 

Right as he was about to get under the mistletoe, he paused, waiting for Ed to walk by, before sticking his foot out and tripping him, the drinks spraying and spilling all over Harry and Liam. The two of them jumped back, Liam cursing and Harry shaking his head, an impressed look on his face.

“Oh, my god, I’m so sorry!” Ed exclaimed, thinking it was his fault. 

Liam was cursing even louder and flapping his shirt around to try to dry it, making the big scene that Louis had hoped for. Ed was still apologizing profusely and loudly which added to the chaos in the area.

“Oh dear, how sad,” Louis fake pouted as Harry flipped him off, laughing. “Let me help you guys! Go into the kitchen you little ducklings,” he said, ushering them into the kitchen, stepping expertly around the mistletoe. “Nothing to see here, just some dripping wet drunk people,” he called out to the people watching them, who started to laugh. Louis knew he was going to regret soaking his floor with alcohol, but it was worth it to play along with Harry’s little game.

He ushered them to the sink and started to wet paper towels with water and dab the two of them clean, as Ed attempted to help but ended up just apologizing. He spent extra time on Harry, loving how hard his chest muscles felt under his hand. 

“I’m gonna get you back for this, you know,” Harry whispered to him, “my next one will top this for sure.”

“Will it?” Louis challenged, dabbing extra hard on Harry’s nipple. Harry flinched but continued to make eye contact.

“Yep,” he answered, popping the ‘p’ before grabbing the hem of his sweater and pulling it over his head, taking his undershirt off with it. Louis ogled his wet chest for a moment, forgetting all subtly, and for a moment when he looked up, he could’ve sworn he saw Harry smirking. Maybe he didn’t think this plan through well enough. Some people whistled nearby as Louis blushed, his arm limp to his sides, not wanting to mop Harry up now that his glistening abs were in front of him. It was too much for him to handle and he definitely did not want to support a semi in the middle of his own kitchen in front of all of the people he was friends with, wearing a fucking _Santa_ sweater. Harry definitely one upped him, and Louis didn’t like it. 

“Bring it,” Louis almost growled, tossing his wet paper towel in the trashcan and stomping over to the mistletoe. “I’m waiting, Styles!”

 

-

 

Louis seriously couldn’t believe how no one caught on to what the two of them were doing. They got more and more ridiculous as the night wore on.

Once Harry acted like he sprained his ankle on the way over, making Louis leave his spot from under the mistletoe and have to wrap it up. He even convinced Louis to kiss it better, giggling and flushing as he asked, so of course Louis had to oblige to this overgrown child. 

Another time, Louis purposely ripped his pants on something has he walked over, then acted overly embarrassed and ran to the bathroom to cover it up. Harry was laughing hysterically the whole time.

The next time, Harry was walking over and preceded to trip over dramatically and shatter his empty glass onto the floor. He hurried to get the broom and had to ward off anyone trying to get near the mistletoe for a long time, saying it was very dangerous. Louis knew he should’ve been mad, but he was just laughing as he helped clean it up, careful to stay out from under the mistletoe. Harry also whispered to him that he’d buy him an even better one. Louis got a nice view of Harry on his hands and knees, and he gave him another shot to make up for it, so Louis knew he couldn’t be mad. 

The two finally then took a break for a while, collapsing on the couch, giggling hysterically, both of them just realizing how drunk they ended up over the course of the night. They took a few more shots in between every antic as a celebratory drink, and it was really catching up to them. 

“Look, they’re…. conferencing,” Harry pointed over to where Niall, Zayn, and Liam were in the corner, whispering furiously. Both of them erupted into giggles again.

“Probably out of ideas to get us under the mistletoe,” Louis snorted, pulling his socked feet onto the couch. Harry hummed in agreement, closing his eyes. The two sat in comfortable silence for a bit, Harry putting his head into Louis’ lap as Louis carded his hands through Harry’s curls.

“You know,” Harry started, his tone more serious, “it really means a lot to me you wanted to spend time with me tonight. I know at most parties, you like, don’t want to hang out with me or whatever, but… it was just… nice, tonight. I had fun.”

Louis felt his insides squirm with guilt, sitting up straighter and jostling the two of them. “Harry…. I always want to hang out with you, what are you going on about?” 

Harry lifted his head, looking at Louis confused. “You never hang out with me when we’re drunk. I just assumed you thought I was an annoying drunk, or something. I don’t take offense to it, I mean, I can be a bit loud. And clingy. I understand.” He shrugged.

“No!” he exclaimed, a little louder than he meant, “I mean, no, no Harry that’s not it. I don’t know why it seems like I ignore you at parties, because I don’t mean to. I seriously had so much fun tonight. Probably the most fun I’ve ever had at a party,” he added the last part quietly. 

“Me too,” Harry whispered back, the two of them just staring at each other. The only noise was the Christmas music in the background, and Louis instantly felt acutely aware of everywhere the two of them were touching. 

“Harry, I have an idea,” he said suddenly.

“Mmm?” Harry hummed, sitting up. Louis almost pushed him back down because it felt so good to have his weight on his lap, but Louis realized that wouldn’t be normal.

“How about… like… for our next trick for the mistletoe. We just, like, actually kiss,” he blurted out. Harry’s eyes widened, and Louis felt his stomach back-flip with regret as he backpedaled, “I mean, I was just thinking, like as a joke, because it’s what they least expect at this point! Like, then they’ll be proud of their selves for us kissing but in reality we’ll be one upping them because they won’t realize it was our plan all along to kiss, not due to their manipulating!” he hurried to explain, to get the shocked look off of Harry’s face. Louis realized that he never felt more sober than he did at that moment as adrenaline and fear pulsed through him as he waited for Harry’s response. 

Louis knew it was probably his imagination, but it looked like Harry’s eyes flickered with disappointment as he explained it was a joke, but as Louis looked at him closer, he seemed to snap out of it and suddenly a huge grin was on his face.

“I love that plan,” Harry nodded, “just as a joke. Got it. Let’s do it.” He clapped once and hopped up, almost stumbling into a couple making out against the wall. Louis felt the smile return to his face too as he stood up too, stretching.

“Okay, I’ll wait under the mistletoe, you get the other three to stand watch,” Louis ordered, walking over to the archway, trying to seem more confident than he was. His hands were really shaking and gathering sweat as he wiped them quickly on his sweater to try to dry them. His throat felt dry and his heart was pumping like mad. He felt so stupid for being so nervous, especially because the kiss didn’t even mean anything, but it was Harry. He’d been dreaming about kissing him forever. He knew it was a joke, but honestly, he was gonna take anything he could at this point. 

He saw the other three stand in his line of vision by the fireplace and he tried to act like he couldn’t see them all watching him, like it was their plan that lured him here under false pretenses. 

He then saw Harry walking up to him, a little smile on his face. Suddenly, it was real; the two of them were directly under the mistletoe.

“Holy shit!” Niall’s loud voice carried over the noise, “You all know what this means! Harry and Lou are under the mistletoe!”

People turned to see, grins on their faces, some craning their neck from their positions to see what was going on. Many started to cheer and clap, and Louis even heard Liam’s loud whistle.

“KISS! KISS! KISS!” Zayn started to chant, getting everyone else to join in. Louis felt a huge blush cover his face; he didn’t realize they were gonna make it a huge public event, especially because so many people here knew he had a horrible crush on Harry.

“We gotta give the people what they want, Lou,” Harry grinned.

“I guess so,” Louis answered, dumbly. 

“Alright,” Harry whispered, so quietly Louis thought he wasn’t even supposed to hear it. Harry then leaned in first, his green eyes fluttering shut, and Louis closed his tight, too, not wanting to be distracted by anything that took away from the feeling of Harry’s lips on his for the first time.

Louis had to hold back a gasp at the moment their lips touched; Harry’s lips were a lot softer than he expected and the tiny bit of stubble over his lip scratched his skin deliciously as they kissed. They started out slow, a ghost of their lips touching, as if both were afraid of breaking the fragile moment. But then there were cheers and Louis somewhere in the back of his mind said “fuck it” and fisted a bit of Harry’s hair in his hand and opened his mouth, tilting his head more and deepening their kiss. Harry actually did gasp, opening his mouth too and sliding their tongues together as more people started to whistle.

The two stood there for God knows how long, exploring each other’s mouths and kissing deeply, hands roaming each other’s chests and backs and pulling on hair that people started to get bored and some even threw things at them to urge them to get a room. Louis blushed, pulling apart, forgetting that there were even people watching. That there were other people actually in this house.

Harry had a deep blush on his face too, his lips swollen and red, his eyes sparkling and his hair mussed up. 

“So, um, that was…” he started, rubbing the back of his neck, looking happy but a bit shy.

Before Louis could respond, Niall’s arm was around both of their shoulders.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here,” he crooned, a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

“Little love birds, Niall, it seems,” Liam said, grinning too. 

“Did you finally seal the deal?” Zayn asked, gesturing between them.

“What?” Harry asked, confused.

Louis felt a new wave of panic. He didn’t realize just how drunk his three best friends were until they were standing right in front of him and Harry, holding his biggest secret in their hands.

“Nothing,” he mumbled, “You three, shoo.”

“That kiss was magical!” Niall ignored him, “you could see the fireworks from across the room. Did you guys confess your undying love for each other? Plan the wedding?”

“What are you guys going on about?” Harry asked, now looking a little panicky himself.

“Well, Lou has been in love with you for years. I thought he would’ve told you that before he swooped you in with the best kiss of the century, like some sort of prince! I mean, you could see the passion, I think I fell in love with you too a little bit there, Harry,” Niall fanned himself dramatically.

“You…. What?” Harry asked, dumbly, this time turning to Louis. Louis’ eyes widened. He was gonna kill them. He really was.

“I…” he started, “gotta go,” he mumbled stupidly before pushing his way through the crowd to his bedroom. Thankfully, his guests were past the stage of randomly taking people’s bedrooms and fucking in them, so his bedroom remained empty and dark.

He flicked on the lights and shut the door behind him before flopping on his bed, a headache taking over him. For the second time that day, he just wished the damn party was over with.

 

-

 

Louis didn’t even remember falling asleep, but the next thing he registered was waking up in his bed the next morning at some early time. He only had a slight headache, which he was thankful for, since he was pretty drunk the night prior, but his mouth tasted like a rat crawled in it and died. 

He was about to roll over to stretch when he realized that there was an arm tightly wound around him. He glanced over and saw it was Harry, who was sleeping soundly with a cute little snore. He looked so beautiful, even when his hair was tangled from sleep, his eyelashes creating a shadow over his cheeks and his face so peaceful.

Looking at him, all of the memories of last night came flooding back and Louis repressed a groan, cursing drunk Niall under his breath. The fact that Harry didn’t feel creeped out enough to sleep next to him might mean something, but Louis was still worried that their friendship was broken beyond repair. They kissed and then Harry found out it meant something to Louis, and _obviously_ it didn’t mean anything to Harry. Right? He didn’t explicitly say it, but Louis didn’t need him to. The confusion that colored his face the night before was all the explanation Louis needed. He didn’t want to deal with the rejection speech he was going to get this morning, so for the time being, he was glad Harry was still fast asleep.

He looked down and realized that his alcohol soaked socks were off and there was a glass of water on his bedside table, no doubt done by Harry, and Louis felt another frustrated wave of affection for the sleeping boy next to him. Why was Harry so good to him? He didn’t deserve him. 

Harry started to stir and Louis panicked, almost bolting out the door to avoid this moment he was dreading, but in his moment of hesitation, Harry’s eyes blinked open and focused on him. A soft smile formed on his face, his eyes bleary but bright.

“Hey,” he rasped in his morning voice.

“Hi,” Louis replied, not sure what else to say. He had a blissful moment where he thought maybe Harry didn’t remember what occurred the night before because he was too drunk, but then Harry’s expression turned a little hesitant and Louis knew he remembered. 

“Er, sorry for sleeping in your bed last night without asking,” he mumbled, “I, uh, I was too tired to go home and I kind of didn’t have a ride, so.” He smiled sheepishly.

“’S okay. You know that,” Louis replied, trying to subtly get out from under Harry’s arm that was still around him without him noticing. 

Harry did notice, though, and he pulled his arm back, grimacing. He seemed to just notice that he was shirtless and in his boxers, too. “Ugh, I’m sorry, I crossed so many borders, you probably just wanted a peaceful morning – “

Louis couldn’t help but laugh. “No, it’s fine, really. We do this stuff all the time, what changed?” The second it came out of his mouth, he winced. He wanted to hit himself because of course, everything had changed since the secrets that came out the night before.

There was a tense silence in the room where Louis refused to look at Harry, instead, focusing on a slight stain on his comforter from soy sauce when he stupidly ate sushi in his bed once.

“Louis, can we please talk about what happened last night?” Harry asked. Okay, straight to the point. Louis could respect that.

“We kissed, that’s it,” Louis said bluntly, hoping to end the conversation, “and it didn’t mean anything. It was part of the joke.”

Harry sighed, sitting up and running his fingers through his curls. “But what about what Niall said?”

“Niall was pissed out of his mind yesterday. Did you really think anything coming out of his mouth was remotely true?” Louis said, before he could stop himself. He knew he was being a coward, instead of facing his problem and telling Harry that he was in love with him, even if Harry didn’t feel the same way. He was too scared of what it would do to their friendship; he’d known Harry since he was sixteen and he knew that he couldn’t throw all that away because of his silly emotions. Louis decided that he would just suffer in silence all over again, go back to pining Harry from afar. It was better that way.

There was a moment of silence where Harry just picked at the comforter, apparently deep in thought. “What if I wanted it to be true?” he mumbled, not looking up from his hands.

Louis blanched, not sure if he heard right, his heart starting to race. “What?”

Harry finally looked up, looking at Louis for the first time. “I said, what if I wanted it to be true?” Louis opened his mouth to say something, but it looked like he opened a flood to Harry, who couldn’t stop talking, “it’s okay if you don’t feel the same way. I just, I’ve really liked you for a while, but I just, I never said anything because I didn’t wanna ruin our friendship, but I just can’t keep pretending. I really like you Louis. Like, I think I’m in love with you?” he added the last part more hesitant, wincing at the awkwardness of the question. 

Louis couldn’t help it, he let out a loud laugh. His stomach filled with relief, happiness flooding him. Harry looked taken a back, a flash of hurt crossing his face.

“No, no Harry I’m not laughing at you, I’m sorry,” he rushed to get out, “ _Fuck_ , Harry, I was laughing because I can’t believe it. I was lying before, I’m in love with you too I just didn’t want to make you feel weird.”

Harry paused for a minute, before a slow smile took over his face. “So you mean that the kiss meant as much to you as it meant to me?”

“That’s exactly what I mean,” Louis confirmed. 

“Fuck yes,” Harry breathed, before leaning in to Louis to kiss him. Louis put his hand on his chest before their lips could make contact.

“I’m sorry Harry there’s nothing I want to do now more than kiss you but dear god I need to brush my teeth,” Louis said, making Harry burst out laughing. 

“Good thinking, Romeo,” Harry teased, getting up to follow Louis into the bathroom. Louis shoved a spare toothbrush into his hand and pushed him away when Harry snuck a kiss, both of them grinning as they brushed their teeth hurriedly.

The second Louis wiped his mouth on a washcloth, Harry was pushing him against the sink counter, fitting their mouths together. It was just as good as their last kiss, even better, because both were sober and both knew they wanted it so bad, not just as a prank.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Louis breathed in between their kissing, “I’ve been dreaming about this forever.” And it was honestly so much better than anything he could’ve imagined. Harry was here, in front of him, and he was allowed to touch all he wanted. 

He never felt the kind of passion and heat he felt through their kisses. He seriously couldn’t believe that Harry loved him back. It was all so surreal. 

“Me too, fuck,” Harry replied, slotting their legs together.

“Didn’t know you had such a sailor mouth on you,” Louis teased.

“Shut up,” Harry giggled.

“Let’s take this to the bed before my back breaks,” Louis suggested at the sink counter dug painfully at his lower back. Harry nodded, kissing him again as they walked backwards, pulling Louis’ shirt off as they went. Louis soon felt the bed behind his knees and crawled backwards onto the bed as Harry crowded him and crawled on top of him. 

The two of their bare chests were warmly pressed together, Louis feeling like he was on fire everywhere Harry was touching him. His hands were roaming all over Louis: squeezing his arm muscles, pulling his hair, scratching down his back, making Louis’ head spin with desire. 

Louis put a hand between the two of them to unbutton his jeans, and he felt Harry hitch his breath as Louis’ hand ghosted on his barely clothed cock through his boxers. Louis shimmied out of his jeans and tossed them on the floor, now both of them rubbing against each other through the friction of their boxers. 

“Louis, you need to stop or I’m not gonna last,” Harry panted, rutting against Louis’ cock, “want to see you.”

Again, because Louis always did what Harry told him to, he nodded vigorously before yanking his boxers down unceremoniously, tossing them on the floor with his jeans. 

Harry paused his kissing to look at him, and Louis actually felt a little shy under his gaze. He told himself to relax because not only was Harry looking at him hungrily, but behind his eyes, it seemed like there was a bit of amazement, like he couldn’t believe he was in this moment, or that Louis could actually be his. 

“Wow,” Harry breathed, running his hands lightly up the sides of Louis’ thighs, making goosebumps erupt there.

Louis didn’t know what to say so he just grabbed Harry from the back of his neck and pulled him in for another kiss. He never did well with compliments and he was sure his blush was visible for miles.

“Your turn,” he grinned, pulling the elastic away from Harry’s hip so that it would snap back at the skin there. 

“Cheeky,” Harry murmured, slipping his boxers off.

Louis paused and looked up at Harry, taking him all in, and almost moaned out loud. “You are going to be the death of me, Harry Styles.”

Harry laughed, his breath hitting Louis’ lips before he kissed him deeply again, biting his bottom lip. His mouth traveled downwards and started to bite at Louis’ neck, sucking at the skin there. Harry was being quite obviously possessive of Louis, marking him all up, but Louis thought it was seriously hot, more heat going straight to his cock.

“Touch me, please,” he whispered, rutting against him again. Harry finally put a hand between their bodies, wrapping his hand around both of their cocks and pumping. His hand went slickly between the pre-cum that was spurting from both of their cocks already. Louis threw his head back and closed his eyes as Harry started to kiss his neck again as he pumped, twisting his wrist at the right moments.

“Harry,” he moaned, “I’m seriously not gonna last.”

“It’s okay,” Harry murmured back, “you can cum, baby.”

Louis felt so close, feeling his orgasm building in him. Harry suddenly whispered, “God, I love you so much,” like he didn’t really mean for it to come out, and that’s all Louis needed before cumming over both of their stomachs. 

Louis should’ve felt more embarrassed that Harry telling him he loved him was what made him cum, but as Harry soon came seconds later, he couldn’t feel the need to be embarrassed. Harry kissed him again, his hands cupping his cheeks, this time soft.

“I love you, too,” Louis added, a bit late, and the two of them smile against each other’s lips.

“Can we set the mistletoe up every year?” Harry asked, making Louis laugh, “no seriously, if it got you naked in bed with me, it’s definitely a keeper.”

Louis slapped his bum before curling an arm around his waist, not even bothering to clean themselves up, even though he knew they’d regret it in a few hours. “Shut up and go to sleep, I need a nap.”

Harry pecked him again on the lips and nodded, a yawn slipping out of his mouth. The last thought he registered in his mind before he felt himself drift to sleep with Harry cuddled against him was that he promised himself he wouldn’t tell Niall, Zayn, and Liam that their meddling actually got him and Harry together. He couldn’t let them live with the satisfaction. 

He’d blame it solely on luck and that goddamn mistletoe.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading :) x Please please leave kudos if you enjoyed it!


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